Waders · Netherlands
Spotted Redshank
Zwarte ruiter · Tringa erythropus
Through my lens
A sooty-black wader from the far north
In spring the Spotted Redshank is almost entirely sooty black, finely dotted with white, on long dark-red legs. By winter it has turned pale grey above and white below. The bill is long and thin, with a slight droop at the tip.
It breeds in the far north of Scandinavia and Russia. Here we mostly see it passing through, a few in spring and more from late summer into autumn, resting on mudflats, lagoons and flooded fields.
It feeds in deeper water than most waders, sometimes up to its belly, and small groups will move through the shallows together after small fish, shrimps and larvae.
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